Starting a skin care routine is just the start. A lot of people walk through their daily and weekly regimens, applying products they bought years prior, or treating all four seasons as equal when it comes to a skin care strategy. That's just two of the most common skincare mistakes people make – we've got more below. It’s not too late to correct the course, and to improve your skin in short-term and long.

Mistake #1: Caring for your blemishes – the wrong way
Call them zits, pimples, acne or blemishes. Bottom line: Most people will get them at certain periods in their life, and some will get them more severe than others. Where most people go wrong is in how they treat the blemish once it appears. Picking at it, applying spot treatments at the wrong phase of the breakout, and using the wrong breakout treatments on the wrong kinds of blemishes will all result in a blemish lasting longer and leaving a post-breakout red or dark scar than can linger for months.

Mistake #2: Getting too aggressive with actives
Today, a consumer can purchase ‘active’ products such as a 70 per cent glycolic with a pH of less than two per cent, which is very dangerous and actually illegal. The ‘actives,’ like retinol and chemical exfoliants like AHAs, can really change the skin for the better, but, when overdone, it is a nightmare.

Mistake #3: Using too many exfoliating products too often
You must have recently noticed the “If it’s not burning or stinging, it’s not working” trend. In the quest to look younger and have smoother skin, people are doing too many aggressive exfoliating treatments that are actually injuring their skin. Too much exfoliation can cause a damaged moisture barrier, resulting in flaking, dehydration and inflammation, possible destruction of healthy cells, and a stimulation of melanin activity causing increased hyperpigmentation.

Mistake #4: Not going “back to basics” once in a while
Once the skin is burnt and out-of-balance, experts recommend going back to the basics. Start feeding and building the skin back. For instance, you can use a gentle non-foaming cleanser, an aloe-healing gel and a hydrating non-active moisturiser. After that, comes a physical sunblock high in zinc, titanium and iron oxides with a minimum of SPF 40. When the skin is balanced, the skin is nutrient-healthy – meaning it heals quickly, stays hydrated and is flexible to the touch.

Mistake #5: Not wearing sunscreen daily
You knew this one was coming. For starters, the number-one reason why your skin will get premature aging is from sunlight, daylight and UV rays. These are all the times when you don’t think you’re getting the damaging rays, like driving in the car, sitting in your home or office near windows or walking outside on a cloudy winter day when people don’t feel like they need sun protection. If you want to prevent wrinkles, wearing sunscreen 365 days a year, rain or shine, inside or out, is a must.

Mistake #6: Not taking care of your neck
Most women know to apply moisturiser daily and nightly to their neck, and many do. But the mistake: Treating your neck as an afterthought. A woman will typically rub moisturiser onto her face and then whatever is left over on her fingertips will extend down onto her neck. Sound like you? While the intention is good, it’s truly not helping that much in the quest for smooth, moist skin on the neck. This particularly applies with sunscreen, which is considered to be the best anti-aging product in the world.

Mistake #7: Ditching the double cleanse
We know it’s hard to cleanse skin at the end of the day, but cleansing your skin not just once, but two times, is absolutely necessary. This allows you to clean your makeup off and any bacteria or pollutants. If you don’t wash these off, it can lead to aging and breakouts and we know you don’t want either.

Mistake #8: Not exfoliating often with the right product
Exfoliation is one of the best things you can do for your skin, so you’re missing out on some major skin improvement when you only use it once in a while. An acid serum uses ingredients like glycolic, lactic and salicylic acids; when applied to the skin and left on overnight, they work deeply to dissolve the glue that holds dead cells together, revealing a brighter and clearer appearance.